Reviews

This handbook is an important resource for collectors of Norwegian fieldpost mail and cancels, with alphabetical and numerical listings. A list of abbreviations used in the book is followed by an illustrated table of cancellation types. Next is a list of sources—both printed literature and internet sites—used for background to the subject.

The first chapter is a list of the fixed or regular fieldpost locations in alphabetical order beginning with Aur. For each entry there is a brief background, a photo, a chronological listing of use with year dates, and illustrations of the cancel types used. Often a piece of mail showing the cancel and/or a Feltpost registered mail label for that location is illustrated. Some locations and their fieldpost control numbers are identified.

The second chapter lists the fieldpost stations arranged in 1940 after the invasion of Germany. These are grouped by four major District Commands of Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Harstad. A short chapter lists the stations after the country’s Liberation in 1945.

One extensive chapter lists the stations chronologically for various military exercises, from 1890 to 2002. The chapter on Norwegian fieldpost stations abroad contains tables with locations in Sweden, Germany, Lebanon, Croatia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Tchad. The sixth chapter focuses on non-military fieldpost stations, beginning with Aalvik (No. 19) and in alphabetical order.

The next chapter lists the temporary non-military stations in chronological order from 1892 to 1997. The last one was a station at the 1997 Norwex international exhibition in Oslo. Chapter 8 lists stations at Norwegian military camps like Haakonsvern, Heggelia, Kolsås, Ramsund and Sessvollmoen among others. A final group of markings are recent military departments with special cancels.

The last chapter is an important one that lists the field post offices numerically beginning with Nr. 1 at four locations from 1888 to 1957, to Nr. 413. An alphabetical index of station names concludes this handbook. There is no pricing or rarity information. Although the text is in Norwegian only, most of the data is tabular in nature and therefore easy to work with. Collectors of Norwegian fieldposts will find this key resource important to identifying these markings.